A shadow appeared on the thin window paper!
The soft light outlined it clearly. It was thin—extremely thin—and hunched over. Most importantly, it didn't move.
Judging by its posture, it was standing just outside the window. Fatty had just woken up and had no idea when it had appeared, or how long it had been standing there like that.
"Cough... cough, cough..."
Along with the hoarse coughing, the shadow outside began to sway. Its back hunched even lower. Hearing that familiar cough, Fatty immediately recognized it. It sounded a lot like the cough he'd heard not long ago. This person... this person seemed to be the Old Man the woman had mentioned.
But whatever appeared outside the window at this hour couldn't possibly be anything good.
Fatty silently backed away, trying to put as much distance as he could between himself and the strangely acting Old Man. But the next second, he bumped into a soft body, and a hand covered his mouth.
"Don't panic. It's me."
At the familiar voice, Fatty's tense body immediately relaxed. Jiang Cheng spoke from behind him, his voice low. "Don't say anything. Listen to me. That thing outside has been here for a while. We think he has something to tell us. Otherwise, he wouldn't be so brazen."
Fatty struggled a little, then pointed toward where Li Bai had been sleeping. Jiang Cheng understood and said, "Don't worry about Li Bai. She went out with Shao Tong through the window. Not long after that thing appeared, it started wandering around the courtyard, as if something had put it in a trance."
Fatty gently patted Jiang Cheng's hand. Seeing that Fatty had calmed down, Jiang Cheng slowly let go. Fatty immediately whispered, "What do we do now?"
"Wait. If that thing leaves again, we'll follow